Building toys



Nov. 8, 1955 s. H. STEANES 2,722,772

BUILDING TOYS Filed Aug. 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 8, 1955 G. H. STEANES 2,722,772

BUILDING TOYS Filed Aug. 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M/VE/VTOR United BUEDING TOYS Geolfrey Hewitt Steanes, Elwood, Victoria, Australia, as-

signor to L. & I. Glenn Proprietary Limited, Hawthorn East, Victoria, Australia, a company of Victoria This invention relates to building toys of the kind comprising a series of rods, sticks or like members and a series of junction pieces or adaptors having holes, slots or passages for the insertion of the rods or sticks in such manner as to enable various kinds of toys or model buildings, machines, mechanical devices and the like to be constructed.

The invention is more especially concerned with the junction pieces or adaptors (hereinafter referred to as adaptors) and provides certain improvements in their design and construction which greatly extends the range of structures that can be built. An important feature of the invention is that provision is made whereby the rods or sticks can be applied to the adaptors so as to extend not only perpendicularly and radially but also at appropriate angles. The adaptors may also serve as wheels or rollers in the case of mobile structures or vehicles and may also have the ability to transmit rotary motion to one another in the manner of spur toothed gearing as employed in the mechanical arts.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description aided by reference to the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. l is an elevation of an adaptor looking upon one side or face thereof, which may be referred to as the rear face.

Fig. 2 is an elevation from the other side or face, which may be referred to as the front face.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly sectional on line III-III of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line IVIV of Fig. 2.

The remaining figures illustrate, by way of examples, the kinds of toys or models that can be built with adaptors and rods according to this invention. Thus, Fig. 5 represents an automobile, Fig. 6 a machine gun, Fig. 7 a merry-go-round, Fig. 8 a table with sun-shade, and Fig. 9 a chair.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the adaptors are generally of flat disc-like or wheel shape although a multi-sided figure approximating the circular would also be suitable.

Each adaptor has a central or axial hole 6 which is shown as circular but could be of square or other shape. In any event it is adapted to receive one of the rods so that the adaptor will normally remain stationary thereon although capable of rotation in the manner of a wheel. The length of the hole is such that the ends of two rods may be inserted end-to-end so as to form a joint.

Viewed from one face (the rear face), see Fig. 1, the axial hole 6 is surrounded for a portion of its length by a circular flange 7 of a thickness say about one quarter of the total thickness of the adaptor. Flange 7 is itself encircled by an annular peripheral flange 8 of the same thickness and spaced concentrically from flange 7 so as to leave an annular gap 9, the width of which is such as to enable a rod or rods to be applied endwise therein.

The two flanges 7, 8, are united by a series of ribs 10,

tates Patent O Another flange 12 of circular shape is disposed at the I other face (the front face) of the adaptor, see Fig. 2, and is joined to the ribs 10. Flange 12 is in substantial alignment with the gap 9 between flanges 7 and 8.

The hub portion 13 of the adaptor extends axially beyond flange 7 and may terminate slightly beyond the inner face of flange 12. If the hub protrudes a distance approximating one third of the width of the flange 12 it may provide support for a rod when placed in any one of apertures B but may yet allow the interlocking of one adaptor with a second adaptor placed with its rear face projecting into the front face of the former so that gap 9 in the one accommodates flange 12 in the other.

Adaptors as aforesaid may be readily produced from suitable synthetic plastics and/or mouldable material in dies or moulds opening in one direction only without the use of side or angle moving cores and this together with the economical employment of material enables them to be mass produced at minimum cost. The adaptors advantageously possess a moderate degree of flexibility or resilience. One especially suitable material may be polyethylene moulding compound.

The rods to be employed with the adaptors may also be composed of plastic material and be of variable lengths. They are preferably of square shape in cross section.

As previously indicated, one or two rods may be inserted into the axial hole 6. Other rods may be inserted into the passages denoted by reference A in Fig. 1 so as to project perpendicularly from one face or side of the adaptor. Other rods may be inserted in passages B so as to project perpendicularly from the other side or face of the adaptor. The passages denoted C in Fig. 2, which are constituted by the outer portions of radial passages 11, might in some cases be used to accommodate the end portions of rods outstanding perpendicularly from the front face of an adaptor but the support may not be very stable so that the use of passages C is not generally recommended.

Rods may also be inserted lengthwise in the passages 11 so as to project radially outwards from the periphery of the adaptor.

Other rods may be applied so as to extend through, or project from, the adaptor at different inclinations. Thus, some of these rods may extend partly or completely through passages B and 11 and the gap 9, as at 14 in Fig. 4, and others, inclined in the reverse direction, partly or completely through passages A (or gap 9) and 11 as at 15 in Fig. 4. The ability of the rods to take up such angular inclinations is facilitated by the moderate resiliency of the adaptors which may be slightly deformed by angular insertion of the rods but will return to their original condition upon withdrawal of the rods.

Owing to the large number of rods which may be applied to each adaptor and the various attitudes that the rods may take relative to the adaptor, it becomes possible to produce an almost infinite variety of models from a moderate number of adaptors and rods. This will be readily apparent from Figures 5 to 9. Fig. 7 indicates, amongst other things, that the rods themselves, i. e. those denoted 16, may take up a curved or bent formation when applied.

It will readily be understood that the adaptors may serve as transport wheels for model vehicles and mobile machines and as rotary members for certain mechanical devices. For that purpose tubular sleeves may be provided to facilitate mounting of the adaptors on the rods or to prevent lengthwise movement thereon.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and-desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

'1. In 'a building toy of the kind indicated, a disc-like adaptor provided with an axial passage, a first series of passages circumferentially spaced around such axial passage on one 'side .of the adaptor, a second series of passages won the other side of the adaptor circumferentially spaced around the axial passage and at a different radial distance from the axial passage than the passages of the first series, and a third series of circumferentially spaced passages extending radially inwards from the periphery of the adaptor .and intersecting said first and second series and .forming angular passages between said first and second series of passages transversely through said adaptor, and passages of the first, second and third series being of the same cross sectional shape and size so that rods of complementary cross sectional shape and size may be insertedlengthwise into said passages withsome of the rods projecting perpendicularly from the opposite faces of the adaptor, with other rods projecting radially outwards from the periphery of the adaptor, and with other rods pro- .jecting from the faces of the adaptor at inclinations be tween perpendicular to the faces and radial to the periphery.

2. A disc-like adaptor according to claim 1 and having a hub portion which terminates at one face in an outstanding flange, an annular flange surrounding said first flange so as to provide an annular gap between the two flanges, a series of ribs disposed in the form of inwardly converging Vs uniting said flanges, and another annular flange forming the other face of the adaptor and adjoining the exposed side faces of said ribs, said last mentioned flange being in alignment with'said annular gap.

References Cited inthe file of this patent OTHER Playthings 'Magazinefor March 1948,'page 212. 

